On Sat, 2004-12-04 at 08:49 -0700, Austin Godber wrote:
> Violating the DMCA however is another matter.
> 
> As a(n) (exclusively) linux user I am left with no choice but to violate 
> the copyright protection mechanism circumvention clause of that 
> particular law in order to consume content that I have legally purchased.
> 
> Despite having purchased many DVDs I don't own a device which will allow 
> me to view these DVDs without violating said law.  Therefore I am a 
> criminal based on my choice of operating system.
----
I fail to see where this is the case. You are neglecting the issue of
fair use.
----
> 
> I am not violating copyright law.  I am using content which I have 
> lawfully purchased and have the right to use.
----
I would agree with this.
----
>   The DMCA, however, 
> prohibits my use of that lawfully obtained material.  The DMCA trumps 
> the intent of copyright law (which happens to also be spiralling wildly 
> out of balance in the favor of the publishers/content providers).
> 
> For additional information regarding these issues check out Lawrence 
> Lessig's book Free Culture ... it is available here:
> http://www.free-culture.cc/freecontent/
> under a creative commons license which permits free 
> copying/redistribution etc (check its license).
> 
> Unfortunately Mike, you would have exposed yourself less legally had you 
> waited for the movie to come out on DVD and then shop lifted it from a 
> retail store.  What are the penalties for shoplifting if its your first 
> offense?  A few hundred dollars?  A single instance of copyright 
> violation is about $150,000.  Or $300/hour to defend yourself with a 
> lawyer if you have a case.  But this is all worst case scenario ... it 
> is possible that compliance with the letter or something else is 
> sufficient ... a scare or slap on the wrist ... will make them happy.
> 
> You know ... the thing that really ... ahem ... annoys me is that none 
> of this is a matter of whether or not you have broken the law.  Lets say 
> that you just suck at running a computer ... and you have been rooted 
> for weeks and SOMEONE else is doing this ... or perhaps you have an 
> unsecured wireless network at home.  YOU COULD BE COMPLETELY INNOCENT 
> YET COMPLETELY HELPLESS because to fight them would cost outrageous 
> ammounts of money.  I won't argue for a second about the copyright 
> holders right to have some control over their content.  But the world is 
> changing and the government needs to strike the balance between what is 
> good for the country as a whole and what is good for the copyright 
> holders.  With 90 year copyrights and insane penalties for violating the 
> law things have become a bit absurd.  Hopefully it will right itself ... 
> or rather those with the power to make the changes make the right 
> decisions.  Otherwise ... we will all continue to be criminals soley 
> based on our choice of OS.  Which in my opinion is a bunch of crap-ola.
----
The system of copyrights, patents and trademarks is broken and needs to
be fixed.

Craig

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